by Tisha Wilson
“What’s a-” Before Jerry could finish the trees erupted and his eyes nearly bugged out of his head. There was a horde of them. He swallowed hard.
“Get him back to Bateman,” Petrov and Alec screamed as they turned to face the crowd of monsters. They produced long silver blades from scabbards hidden on their backs beneath the long black dusters.
Al was dragging him towards the motorcycle now as he watched the two brothers behind them. They faced each other and bowed deeply once.
“It has been a good life and it is a good day to die brother,” he heard one of them say. The other repeated the words before they turned to the beasts and began to mow them down. There were just so many of them and they ran over the top of and smashed the beautiful Jaguar.
Al growled in frustration as they neared the bike.
“What?”
“You wrecked my bike,” she snapped as she climbed on and waited for him to get on too.
“Sorry. Aren’t you going to help them?” he asked as he climbed on behind her. He was still watching as the beasts surrounding the brothers. There was a lot of flame and screeching at the center of the melee but the battle would be short lived.
“They are giving their lives to help us. I don’t know what a balance is but it must be pretty damn important for them to have spared us.”
She kicked the bike to life and sped off into the night.
* * *
Jerry felt himself slipping from consciousness. He struggled to hold on but his body hurt, his back hurt, he was starving, exhausted and everything below his belt was vibrating with the motorcycle. With his bruised or broken tailbone he swore he felt every bump they went over. He tried to concentrate on the line in the center of the road. He watched the white lines whipping by and realized that doing this was equal to watching clothes spin in the dryer. If he kept it up he was a goner.
Watching the dots wiz by, however, was the only way to keep from looking at the trees as they rustled and limbs broke and fell behind them. The sight of the multitude of creatures that had spilled out of the trees in pursuit of him was mind boggling. He didn’t want to look over and see how many still followed them. So he watched the road.
Every now and then Al’s braid slapped him in the face and he realized that he must have fallen asleep since it woke him. He was leaning heavily on Al and if it was anyone but her they would have fallen already. Even Al wouldn’t be able to keep them completely upright if he was to go completely slack. She couldn’t fight gravity.
He began trying to count the white lines as they went by but this only made his sleepiness worse. He finally laid his head on her shoulder and felt himself slump into her.
“Hey big guy. You all right?”
He shook his head and sat up quickly making them sway a bit. “I’m fine.”
She gave him a knowing look. “I guess you didn’t get much sleep this morning with having to walk to town for gas, and with me takin’ a bite outa you. Sorry again bout that.”
“I would do it again.”
“I can get us a room for the night once I take care of the few following us. The twins really thinned them out. I suppose you didn’t bring any of your credit cards with you.”
He huffed out a breath debating if he should tell her what all had happened this morning. He didn’t really have much choice. “Even if I did it probably wouldn’t be a good idea that I use them,” he replied evenly.
She sent a quizzical look towards him. “Why? Because of what happened at the hospital? I mean if you want to risk it we might be able to go back and explain things to your uncle after a while, but they should be hunting you out in those woods for a spell. No one will think to be lookin’ for you or trackin’ your credit cards once we get far enough away from Taming.”
He sighed heavily again. “They know I’m alive.”
She slowed down a bit so that the rushing wind didn’t whip every word they said into the darkness. He sent a nervous glance towards the trees.
“What did you say?” she asked with an edge in her tone.
“Someone who knew my Sergeant happened to be the same person who gave me a lift into Fairfax this morning and so-”
“You hitched a ride one town away from where you supposedly went missing in the woods?”
He felt her body stiffen with anger beneath his hands. He felt heat rise to his face. “To be fair I only recently moved back to the area. A lot of people in Fairfax still don’t remember what I look like and-“
“But you are no longer just a blast from the past cher. You are a deputy that’s gone missin’.”
“Actually I’m an officer. We don’t have Sheriff and Deputies in Taming.”
“All right OFFICER! Don’t you know that when one of your fellow OFFICERS goes missin’, the first thing they do is start flashin’ your picture on every TV screen for a hundred miles maybe even further, especially if the national news picks it up! I mean… do you want me to just stop here and feed you to the wolves so we can be done with it, are you trying to ruin any chance we have of surviving this?”
“And what exactly is this? You think I’m a machine! I can be broken, bitten, beaten, and starved without ever making a mistake. This is all new to me. I’ve had to abandon everyone and everything I care about and I didn’t ask for any of this,” he yelled back. His last bit of strength was almost gone. His words sounded as if they were coming from a long distance and not his mouth.
*
Al watched him as he looked from side to side like he was cornered. He fought for control but he was about to crash… hard. She had to stop. “Okay, alright. Just hang on a little while longer big poppa. I got a place we can go,” she said as she sped up again.
It took them another hour to reach the place she was headed to and her speed had put a lot of space between them and the wolves. They were still coming though. There were so many of them. She had been crazy to think that they could go to a hotel.
Even with what the twins had taken out, they just kept coming. They were coming from South America, from Canada… She shook her head to try and dispel the feeling of impending doom. She pulled off on a hidden path that cut through the mountains. They went through a small valley and traveled the crease of a mountain until it became apparent that they could not continue on the bike. They would have to walk from here. She stopped. Jerry was nearly dead weight behind her. As she came to a halt his head snapped up.
“Where are they! Did they catch us, why did we stop!”
“Calm down honey. I just gotta get you somewhere where you can rest. It’s too bad you need to breath or we would go into the lake like I’ve done in the past.”
Jerry looked groggy and confused. “You don’t need to breath?” he asked as he stumbled to his feet. He swayed as if a strong breeze could blow him down.
She took the bike to an area she had spied out before and lay it on its side. She removed her satchel and then gave the bike a loving stroke and tsked over the damage Jerry had caused. She would come back for the bike and make sure it was repaired properly. Her bike was the only thing that she had felt any affection for for so long, that she almost felt like it was a part of her. It almost felt like betrayal to leave it, like she was choosing Jerry over it.
“I can’t die remember. Drowning over and over is uncomfortable but you learn how to move forward,” she replied.
She began to stride through the woods knowing that he would follow her. She heard him fall a few times but didn’t feel like trying to hold him up at the moment. It had been a long ride with him pressed so close behind her. She didn’t know why she was so turned on by him but it was undeniable. She couldn’t keep her mind on anything but him when he was touching her.
“How do you know that you can’t die,” he asked as he stumbled behind her. It was a good thing that they weren’t trying to sneak up on anyone. The noise they made was like having a big red neon sign pointing saying ‘here we are, come and get it’. She shook her head.
“I know,” she r
eplied shortly. He was silent for a little while.
“You know because you tried it,” he said as more of a statement than a question.
She felt tension weigh down on her shoulders and she couldn’t seem to shake it like she normally did. “Are you trynna figure me out Officer Cayman?”
He didn’t respond as he struggled to keep up. She was aware that he stopped for a moment and was tempted to just leave him behind. “Wait. Slow down. Where are we going?” he yelled behind her.
“Just keep moving. If you stop now you’ll crash and I’ll have to carry you like a little girl, cherie,” she teased.
“Oww,” he yelped as a branch struck him in the face. “Damn it! I don’t have freaky night vision like you do so if you don’t mind just slow down. Are you part billy goat along with vampire?” he said as he breathed hard.
“It’s just ahead,” she said as she forced herself to slow down to keep stride with him.
Finally they reached the cave that she had spied out before she’d started this operation. She always made sure there was a secondary location for her to make a stand, but she’d never thought she’d need it. This was supposed to be a simple clean sweep of the area, but she’d felt the tug of Taming as much as the creatures had. Now she knew what she was chasing. Jerry was a balance. She didn’t know what that was but maybe it had something to do with why she had been trying to climb on top of him since she’d first met him.
“I couldn’t imagine doing this for eight years. How did it all happen for you? I mean you told me they killed your husband but… did you see it? Were you two camping in the woods when you were attacked?” he asked as he picked his way carefully through the under brush.
She could see his handsome face clearly in the moon light. He was more handsome than any man had a right to be with his dark hair and lashes. He had a bit of stubble going on after all that had happened and he looked even more rugged and attractive than when he was clean shaven. She nearly licked her lips just to look at him. She shook her head and tried to focus on the question he was asking her.
He was trying to stay on his feet and apparently he chose talking as his main distraction. She wished they were on the bike again so she didn’t have to answer him.
“We’re here,” she said with relief.
She didn’t give him the chance to protest going into the dank dark cave as she pushed him inside. “Hey! Don’t push-“ His words were cut off as an explosion echoed through the cave and caused him to drop to the ground covering his head. She nearly laughed at him as she cracked a glow-stick and let it fall to the ground beside him.
She shrugged the heavy satchel off her shoulder and let it fall to the ground. She walked over to stand beside him with her hands on her hips. Once the smoke cleared he peeked up from where he lay. He looked even more lost and confused.
“I rigged the entrance so that if anyone entered the opening would close tight behind them. It’s a precaution I take before goin’ on any job.”
“Why didn’t you tell me?” he snapped as he stood up and dusted himself off.
“Sorry,” she said with a shrug. She turned to rummage through her satchel.
She came up with the small bag of food she’d found earlier on the counter. She turned and held them out to him. It struck her again how much taller he was than her. She loved that in a man. She knew she was a mile stronger than him but he was just so… broad, muscled… big. The thought made her quiver in delighted anticipation. At some point what was smoldering between them would come to a head.
“You’re muffins are ruined but your canned stew should be fine if you can push it down cold. We can’t build a fire in here. I’m sure there is an air outlet, but we don’t want the cavern to be filled with smoke.”
He took a deep breath as he snatched the bag from her hand. He was still mad at her but she could feel the tension fading a little. “That’s okay. I’m tired of the heat outside and it’s cool in here. How long will the barrier hold them out?” he asked as he rummaged through his bag and took out one of the smashed muffins.
She pointed over to the corner. “There’s a sleeping bag and some fresh water over there. There’s only one sleeping bag so I’ll let you get some shut eye first. I’ll watch the entrance but it should take them until morning to try and dig in here. Then they’ll have to take cover. I can easily dig us the rest of the way out so we can get moving again,” she said before she knelt down and began laying all the weapons and ammo they had left out on the ground. It wasn’t much. They needed to get to Nevada fast.
*
Jerry watched her working on their weapons as he went to sit down on the sleeping bag. He polished off two muffins and a can of beef stew before he slowed down. His eye lids were getting heavy. He found the water jug and took a deep pull. The food was coursing through his veins and giving him strength.
He watched her take out a rag and begin polishing a silver stake. She looked so small and alone as she knelt over the weapons like she was a child playing with her toys. If he hadn’t seen it for himself he would have never believed how strong she was. She had perfected the cool façade that she projected as if she hadn’t a care in the world.
“Will you tell me something?” he asked as he took another drink of the water. It was tepid but tasted like heaven to his parched throat. He was so thirsty.
“What do you want to know?” she asked in exasperation as she kept on with her polishing.
“Anything.”
She stopped rubbing and looked up at him. Her face looked eerie by the green light of the glow-stick. Eerie and stunningly beautiful at the same time. “Anything, like what?”
“Tell me something about yourself. Not a tragic memory. Tell me something that you loved about your life?” he asked. As he expected she went back to what she was doing without a reply. That was it. It wasn’t just him. She didn’t want anyone getting too close to her.
“Why do you want to know about a dead woman?”
“You’re not dead.”
“The woman who lived that life… who enjoyed those frivolous things is dead, cher. She died eight years ago, but they forgot to give her a head stone because I took over the body.”
He shook his head as he pulled out his trail mix and made his way through the nuts and dried berries. “Then tell me about her. I like history stories.”
“That’s ancient history.”
He growled in frustration but wouldn’t push her any further. He was too tired to keep up the fight. He stretched out on the sleeping bag and closed his eyes. He was nearly gone when he heard the scratching. Nails were scratching on the rock outside. He felt himself begin to tremble. They were trying to get inside. Why wouldn’t they just leave him alone? She came to his side then and sat down beside him. She looked down into his face in a way that he had never seen her look at him.
“Okay,” she said with a whisper. “If you promise to ignore the scratching and crashing coming from outside and get some rest, I’ll tell you a story.”
He nodded as he forced himself to relax and ignore the noise coming from outside. He watched her face as she chewed on the inside of her cheek. She didn’t look anymore than twenty five. How could she have been married eight years ago?
“The house… My house was beautiful,” she began. “I was raised in the noisy polluted city of Nawlins. So when my husband and I moved to Texas, I didn’t want to live any where near the city. We had a hacienda built out in the middle of no where. It took nearly an hour to get to work, but to me, it was worth it. My house was like the stuff dreams are made of.
“It was a single story structure but it was spread out and roomy. The red clay blended into the hills of the desert perfectly. When you entered the house, the first thing you saw was the clay tiles on the floor, nearly the same color as the adobe walls but smooth like marble, and cool to the touch. Sometimes I would take my shoes off and let my bare feet slide against the floor to take in the feel of it.
“The kitchen was a real master pie
ce. The center island was made of natural granite. It looked like something out of the Stone Age, and I always kept fresh herbs strung upside down above it, which is somethin’ my maman taught me to do. I had an herb garden in the back yard but Thomas… he liked to tend it and keep the weeds out for me. Every year people could expect a bag of fresh herbs as Christmas gifts. And then there was the back yard.
“We had cactus roses, and red rock cut into stone benches, and a few palm trees that swayed in the slightest breeze. We had a mister hooked up so that when we lay out in our lawn chairs, we would always get a fresh mist in the breeze. Thomas always had some type of clinging vines growing on the slatted porch to give us some shade. Then there was the view. Mile after mile of endless desert. It was so vast that sometimes it was like sitting next to the ocean. There were the nights when there were so many stars shinning that you felt like the universe had just reached out and swallowed you up.”
She stopped talking and a tear slipped down her face. She quickly wiped it away as she looked down at the cave floor. He reached out to her wanting her to give him permission to touch her. She looked at his hand and then up at him. She shook her head.
“I can’t,” she said.
“Why?” he asked. She looked away and he asked again. When she returned her gaze to his he could see a change in her eyes.
“Because when you touch me I feel like my skin is on fire, and all I want is for you to be inside of me.”
She was so direct about it that his heart began to pound in his chest. He felt desire roar to life inside of him. “That’s okay. As long as you know it’s me and that I’m not doing it out of lust.”
She shook her head again. “How can you be doing it out of anything other than lust?” she said in a small voice. He sat up and took her chin in his hand forcing her to look directly at him.
“You are one of the bravest most selfless people that I have ever known. You are a good woman and I want to be inside you as much as you want me there. I want to be inside of you physically, mentally, and spiritually. I want to be inside you until there is nothing left but me and you,” he said as he slowly leaned forward.
